ByREUTERS, TOBIAS HOLCMAN
Updated:

The European Union "strongly condemns" attacks by extremist settlers in the West Bank, including attacks against European diplomats, the bloc's foreign policy spokesperson said on Sunday.

The statement came a day after Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian civilians, European diplomats and a French mayor in the West Bank.

"We take positive note of statements by several Israeli representatives who condemned the attacks, but we expect full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence and violent harassment against Palestinians, including during the ongoing olive harvest season, as well as against journalists," the EU spokesperson said.

The incident in question included a group of European diplomats who claimed to have been attacked by Jewish settler extremists on Saturday.

Netanyahu cautioned against ongoing 'campaign to smear Israel'

Following the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that "serious accusations require serious evidence."

Masked men reportedly attacked European diplomats in the West Bank.

"We urge caution before drawing conclusions from today's reports that European diplomats were attacked by masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria. Any violence against diplomats is unacceptable. The more serious the accusation, the greater the demand for compelling evidence," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

The statement by Netanyahu also claimed that the reports come amid a "coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge."

"We may see further allegations in the coming days. By the time the evidence is fully examined, the reputational damage from premature conclusions may already be done," the statement continued, adding that the PMO has "called on the public and responsible journalists to demand verifiable evidence, reject hearsay, and refuse to turn unproven allegations into a collective indictment of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria."